The annual Tetrahedron Prize honors the most creative and influential organic or medicinal chemist. The Executive Board of Editors of the Tetrahedron journal series selected Professor Balasubramanian for his many highly significant and seminal contributions to nucleic acid chemistry and biology.

Professor Stephen Neidle, Chairman of the Editorial Board of Tetrahedron journals said, “Professor Balasubramanian is a world-leading researcher in the study of quadruplex nucleic acids, demonstrating, for example, the existence of these structures in human cells: a landmark study which can pave the way to therapeutic targeting of quadruplexes. Furthermore, he has creatively applied knowledge of nucleic acid chemistry to the invention of next-generation DNA sequencing which is revolutionizing genetics and its application to medicine.”

"I am deeply honoured to be the recipient of this important prize and to join such a distinguished collection of chemists who have previously received this award,” said Professor Balasubramanian. “I would like to acknowledge the contributions of many talented and visionary co-workers and collaborators with whom it continues to be a great pleasure exploring nature through science. I thank Tetrahedron journals and the election committee for recognising the importance of the field of nucleic acids. I foresee that chemistry will contribute many more discoveries and inventions to further our understanding of DNA and RNA in the next decade and beyond."

Diddel Francissen, Executive Publisher of Tetrahedron journal series at Elsevier, said, “I am delighted with the choice of Professor Balasubramanian as the winner of the 2013 Tetrahedron Prize. I thank both the nominators and the leading scientists in the voting committee, who helped the Editors in making such an exceptional choice from a field of very strong nominations.”

The Tetrahedron Prize consists of a gold medal and a monetary award of $10,000 and will be presented to Professor Shankar Balasubramanian at the Fall 2014 ACS National Meeting in San Francisco, USA (10-14 August 2014).

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About Professor Shankar BalasubramanianShankar Balasubramanian was born in Madras (now Chennai) India in 1966 and moved to the UK with his parents in 1967. He grew up in a rural area just outside Runcorn in Cheshire and was schooled at Daresbury (primary), then Appleton Hall High School (secondary). He did his undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge (1985-88) and then carried out a PhD under the supervision of Professor Chris Abell (1988-1991). Balasubramanian then traveled to the USA as a SERC/NATO Research Fellow and worked in the group of Professor Steven J Benkovic at Pensylvannia State University (1991-1993). He started his independent academic career in 1994 in the University of Cambridge and has remained there ever since. He is currently the Herchel Smith Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and holds a joint appointment between the Clinical School and Department of Chemistry. He directs research laboratories in the Department of Chemistry and also the Cambridge Research Institute at the Addenbrookes Biomedical Campus.

About the Tetrahedron PrizeThe Tetrahedron Prize for Creativity in Organic Chemistry was established in 1980 by the Executive Board of Editors and the Publisher of Tetrahedron Publications. It is intended to honor the memory of the founding co-Chairmen of these publications, Professor Sir Robert Robinson and Professor Robert Burns Woodward.

The Tetrahedron Prize is awarded on an annual basis for creativity in Organic Chemistry or Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry. The prize consists of a gold medal, a certificate, and a monetary award of US $10,000. It is awarded to an Organic or Medicinal Chemist who has made significant original contributions to the field, in its broadest sense. On some occasions, the Prize may be awarded jointly to two winners in which case two medals are presented. The winner is expected to write an appropriate article for Tetrahedron or Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry as part of a Symposium-in-Print compiled in their honor.

About ElsevierElsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier’s online solutions include ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciVal, Reaxys, ClinicalKey and Mosby’s Suite, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, helping research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

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